Flu in India to restrain September’s Marian festivities

(Aug.19,2009): Swine flu fears will tone down the annual celebrations of Marian nativity feasts in western Indian parishes this year. The nativity feast of Blessed Mother on Sept. 8, will not have processions and other major crowd gathering programs in Mumbai and Pune cities, local media reported. For some 100,000 Catholics of Pune, the annual feast is a time to pray and seek favours from the Blessed Mother. Hundreds of people from other religions also join the festivities. But the administration has put restrictions on festivities this time because of the spread of H1N1 virus causing flu, which has already killed at least 25 people as of Aug. 17. Reports said several parishes in the city would not be celebrating the Marian feast.
Another major Marian event in Pune - the feast of our lady of Velankanni - for the first time will not be celebrated at Wanavdi chapel, St Francis De Sales church at Shaanwadi and St Ignatius church at Khadki.. Instead, the novenas and prayers will be held at St Patrick’s cathedral from August 29 to September 8. ”It is with a heavy heart that we have to take this decision,” Father Malcolm Sequeira, parish priest at St Patrick’s cathedral and spokesperson for the Diocese of Poona said. He added that there will also be no erection of huge pandals, and no food distribution this year, and processions will also not be taken out for the first time. India has reached some 1,928 HINI virus cases, 220 on 17^th August alone, for a total of 25 deaths, especially in Pune.